So, how did pretzels come to be, and why the funny shape?

The Catholic Church played a leading role in the history of the pretzel. In the 7th century, the church dictated stricter rules governing fasting and abstinence during Lent than it does today. Pretzels, made of a simple mixture of water, flour and salt, were an ideal food to consume during Lent, when all types of meat, dairy and eggs were prohibited.

Catholic monks are said to have twisted strips of dough to resemble arms crossed in prayer, and these baked treats were given to children as a reward for learning their prayers. Some say they were originally called “bracellae”, the Latin term for “little arms”, from which Germans later derived the word “bretzel”.

The first pretzels were like the soft pretzels of today, and the popularity of these twisty treats spread across Europe during the Middle Ages. Seen as a symbol of good luck, prosperity and spiritual fulfilment, pretzels were also commonly distributed to the poor, as a way of providing them with both spiritual and literal sustenance. There was even some talk of the three holes of a pretzel representing the Holy Trinity espoused by the Catholic Church: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

By the 17th century, the interlocking loops of the pretzel had also come to symbolise undying love and the bond of matrimony, and this may have been the origin of the phrase “tying the knot”.

In Germany, the country and people most associated with the pretzel throughout history, 17th-century children wore pretzel necklaces on New Year’s to symbolise good luck and prosperity for the coming year.

Pretzels were brought to the United States by German immigrants in the 18th and 19th centuries. These immigrants, known as Pennsylvania Dutch, settled in large numbers in Pennsylvania, where the pretzel industry in the United States began.

The first commercial pretzel bakery in the United States was established in Lititz, Pennsylvania, in 1861 by Julius Sturgis, who also claimed credit for developing the first hard pretzels. The crispy snacks lasted longer in an airtight container, allowing them to be sold further away from the bakery itself and to stay on shelves longer. Eventually, hard pretzels would come to be arguably even more popular than their soft counterparts.

Today, Pennsylvania remains the American pretzel-making capital, and a full 80% of US-made pretzels come from that state.

In the United States, National Pretzel Day is celebrated on 26 April.

Story Idea: Eileen Gittins
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References

wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretzel
history.com/news/the-pretzel-a-twisted-history
historyfacts.com/world-history/fact/pretzels-were-invented-by-catholic-monks

Images

1. Pretzels with mustard. Photo credit: Getty Images.
2. Video clip: Seinfeld, Season 3 Episode 11 "The Alternate Side", 1992
3. Pretzel = folded arms
4. Pretzel depicted at a banquet of Queen Esther and King Ahasuerus, 12th century Hortus deliciarum
5. Pretzel Holy Trinity
6. Jan Steen, Baker Arent Oostwaard and His Wife Catherina Keizerswaar, 1658 features pretzels, Rijksmuseum
7. Bakery emblem with a cut in the pretzel, Ravensburg, Germany. Photo credit: Andreas Praefcke.
8. Julius Sturgis
9. Hard mini pretzels
10. Christmas market in Strasbourg … mulled wine and pretzels
11. Sculpture in Pretzel Park in Manayunk, Philadelphia, Warren C. Holzman, 2004
12. National Pretzel Day infographic